tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post5769861259580835794..comments2017-10-16T15:07:06.598-05:00Comments on Chuck's Chatter: The will of the majorityChuck Doswellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03099345055614900157noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-76558477232337398062016-11-23T11:21:47.838-06:002016-11-23T11:21:47.838-06:00Roger,
You&#39;ve made this technical argument ma...Roger,<br /><br />You&#39;ve made this technical argument many times recently. I don&#39;t disagree that voting in your own self-interest *could* be considered &quot;selfish&quot; but I maintain that NOT doing so can turn out very badly for such a voter. There are many in the political spectrum who vote for things outside of their self-interest, when what they vote for also is in fact harmful to many others beside themselves. I would vote for issues and politicians that I believe are good for the nation even when doing so might not be entirely favorable to me (e.g., higher taxes). For instance, I support the principle that it&#39;s good for some part of my taxes to be allocated to help the disadvantaged, rather than supporting unwinnable wars on foreign soil. I wouldn&#39;t vote for a politician committed to &quot;trickle down&quot; economics - many people suffering from privations attributable to such failed economic policies are, nevertheless, bamboozled into voting for the very people causing them to suffer.Chuck Doswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03099345055614900157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759913671101666257.post-82295084827993321282016-11-04T19:26:04.761-05:002016-11-04T19:26:04.761-05:00Chuck: Just two brief statements on an otherwise ...Chuck: Just two brief statements on an otherwise reasonable essay (regardless of some other opinions I have that are beside the point)... <br /><br />1. The &quot;best interests&quot; argument is presumptuous. a) How do we know what are Trump voters&#39; &quot;best interests&quot;? A claim to know seems to be a rather paternalistic and patronizing statement. [Disclosure: I am not a Trump voter either.] b) Voting in one&#39;s own &quot;best interest&quot; is inherently a selfish act. Voting ideally should be done altruistically, in the best interest of the country, state, or locality; that Venn diagram may not overlap completely with self-interest.<br /><br />2. A factual correction: Trump did not win the &quot;votes of the majority of GOP members&quot;. Instead it was a plurality, and only a plurality of those who voted. See<br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Results_of_the_Republican_Party_presidential_primaries,_2016#/media/File:2016_Republican_Party_presidential_primaries_popular_vote.svg<br /><br />===== Roger Edwards =====tornado.specialisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12747926731914018273noreply@blogger.com